Machines are often monitored to detect and measure certain operating conditions. For example, it may be desirable to monitor vibrations or oscillations in machines having moving parts. As another example, it may be desirable to measure load, such as torque, in a machine used to rotate a shaft. Sometimes, a machine, itself, may provide some capability of monitoring an operating condition, such as revolutions per minute (RPM) of a rotating shaft, as an example. However, in many cases, the machine does not have the capability to provide data relevant to at least some of the operating characteristics that an operator may want to track.
Monitoring systems have been proposed that can perform desired measuring tasks. As one example, a system has been proposed that includes a transportable, hand-held measuring apparatus. The measuring apparatus is connected by a transmission cable to a point on a machine that is excited by oscillations and the measuring apparatus is used to measure operating conditions at that point. A central computer is used to process the measured data from the measuring apparatus. The central computer also stores the data collected by the measuring apparatus.
Such a hand-held measuring apparatus can measure a condition at a location on the machine, providing a “snap shot” of the operating conditions at a specific point and moment in time the data is acquired. There is a need for a monitoring system capable of monitoring a number of a machine's operating parameters simultaneously.